Living, moving and eating well in Portland, Oregon

Clackamas Physical Conditioning

Remember the sirloin curry I mentioned in Monday’s post? Well, here it is, as promised! If you don’t already know, I have a weakness for curries and just can’t seem to get enough. Curries are often one of my defaults and always seem to satisfy. I guess I have a big place for curries in my heart. I prefer to eat my curry over zucchini noodles, but cauliflower rice works too. Heck, you can really eat it on top of any vegetable.

On another note, I have some fun things planned this weekend. Tomorrow starts out with some time atClackamas Physical Conditioning with Jason Seib and then afterward, Jesse and I are having lunch at Dick’s Kitchen with a friend of ours (also a client of Jesse’s) and her husband, who we’ll be meeting for the first time. They’ve never eaten at Dick’s, so they’re in for a real treat! I always look forward to a good grass-fed burger there. When I was there last a few weeks back, I had my first experience with an elk burger and it was fantastic. It did not disappoint.

Aside from that, Jesse and I both work briefly Sunday morning and then talked about going for another round of blueberry picking later in the day. We might not pick as much as we did a couple weeks ago (15 lb), but want to get at least half that amount. We want to add to our supply in the freezer, but keep a little bit more out for eating this time around.

Also, I wouldn’t mind going back to Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider taproom in our neighborhood and having another cider. This sounds like a good Saturday thing to do, after a nice long walk . Jesse, if you’re reading this, it’s a big hint.

Oh, and get this, I have jury duty on Monday and Tuesday. I was summoned a few weeks back. I’m not really looking forward to being confined and sitting all day, but hopefully I’ll get out early or won’t be a fit for the case. I won’t find out until they do the questioning that first day though. If I do have to stay, I’m at least hoping for an interesting case!

What are your plans for the weekend? Have you ever served for jury duty?

Melt coconut oil in a large skillet or wok over medium heat. Add the garlic, jalapeno and onion. Saute a couple minutes and then add the sliced sirloin. Continue to saute for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, curry paste, coconut aminos and cayenne. Add to the pan with the meat and onion mixture, and stir.

Add the carrot, cabbage and cauliflower and stir. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat and cook for 5 minutes or so, stirring occasionally.

Next, stir in the bamboo shoots and stir. Once heated through, mix in the chopped basil.

Serve straight up or atop of zucchini noodles. Garnish with green onion, if using.

As some of you know from my Facebook page, I attended Jason Seib and Sarah Fragoso’s Everyday Paleo workshop this past Saturday. It was my second time attending, but this time it was at Jason’s gym, Clackamas Physical Conditioning, about 25 minutes from my house. Last time, I drove four hours to attend their workshop in Grant’s Pass, Oregon and it was well worth it. Anyway, there were about 100 or so people in attendance, including Cain Credicott of Paleo Magazine, Tammy Credicott ofThe Healthy GF Lifeand author of Paleo Indulgences, Ute of Grokette’s Primal Musings and FastPaleo.com, the founders of Fatworks and more! It was such a great crowd! I was humbled to have a few people come up to me and ask if I was Paleo in PDX, and then proceed to introduce themselves. It was kind of strange, but neat at the same time.

You know what really made me feel special though? Being invited to the cool kids party after the workshop. Jason invited me over to his house for dinner that evening to hang with him, his family, the Fragoso’s, Tammy and Cain, and possibly some others. I had to about pinch myself thinking about the awesome offer. Holy sh*t, I felt honored and like a really flippin’ cool lady. Sadly, I could not attend because Jesse and I had plans at 4 p.m. to meet our friend who’s officiating our wedding, and I really didn’t want to cancel with the wedding only 4-ish weeks away (and considering the fact that we hadn’t even discussed anything with him yet). If I would’ve known beforehand and not the day of (thanks, Jason), I could have planned for it, but it was too short notice. So, it’ll have to happen another time and I’m confident that something of the sorts will. Still though, isn’t that pretty rad?!

Preach it, Jason! (Photo credit: Grokette’s Primal Musings).

Anyway, back to the actual workshop. It was so engaging, even a second time around. I learned new things and took completely different notes than I did before. The questions and discussion always change, of course, based on the audience. This particular audience asked a lot of questions! Jason was as science-y, thorough and funny as ever, and Sarah was down to earth, vibrant and spoke from the heart. They really complement one another well and make a great team. Here are some of my takeaways this time around:

When you intervene on original diets, disease interferes. We changed the rules with the introduction of agriculture and processed foods, which is why we have the pronounced rise of modern illness today.

In a study with over 5,000 Swedish men (I believe it was just men), 74% had undiagnosed celiac disease. Just get it out of your diet, people! Don’t even bother with a test that may or may not even tell you that you have it!

People are not stuck with autoimmune conditions the rest of their lives (unless a rare, chronic issue), despite what they think or are told. The question that needs to be asked is, “what caused it?” It comes back to systemic inflammation, leaky gut syndrome and celiac disease. There was even a woman in attendance who had been diagnosed with MS and was bound to a WHEELCHAIR! Well, guess what? She switched to a paleo lifestyle and is no longer debilitated, and can walk and move freely! Chill-worthy, right? The proof is in the pudding, folks. This is not the first instance of this I’ve heard either. There is another prime example in Jason’s wonderful book, The Paleo Coach, which I recommend buying if you haven’t already.

Jason shared a quote from Nora Gedgaudasthat is so spot on, “Science isn’t the last word, it’s the latest word.”

50 percent or more of people that die of heart disease have LOW cholesterol.

There is a strong correlation between calcium supplementation and heart attack.

If and when you do indulge in booze, drink earlier, so it’s out of your bloodstream before you go to bed.

There is not a single study showing that people who are on statins live any longer than those not on statins. And, in people who have had a heart attack or have advanced heart disease, studies show that they might live 13 days longer than they would have otherwise. 13 days longer…is it worth all the terrible health risks? Did you know that people at Jason’s gym are not even allowed to be on statins to workout there because of all the risks? You actually have to sign off that you’re not on statins.

When you yo yo diet, you lose WEIGHT and gain FAT. You don’t want to lose weight, folks because that includes precious muscle mass.

“Paleo treats,” as a staple are like candy cigarettes.

STOP doing lots of cardio! Six 20-second row sprint intervals have the same EPOC (Excess Post Oxygen Consumption) as 30-minutes of steady state cardio at 80% VO2max, but without the cortisol and prolonged stress. Do you know what excess cortisol and stress equals? Increased fat storage! (This is not new to me, but I like the study Jason mentioned, especially since I understand the terminology, thanks to exercise science).

“This isn’t a diet, it’s a perspective and perspective will set you free.” – Jason Seib

**Read about my first time attending Sarah and Jason’s workshop here and here.**

Homework, writing and reading. That’s the summary of my weekend. In fact, I was so worn out on Saturday after being at it all day, that I missed out on girl’s night with some of my co-workers from Recreate and other great ladies that workout there. I just didn’t have the energy for it, and knew that I needed my focus to roll over into Sunday. Luckily, I did have some fun Friday night and got a lot done this weekend, which was critical.

On Friday, Jesse and I went out with an old college friend of mine from Michigan. We met when we were both 18 years old, attending Eastern Michigan University in the interior design program, which will be 10 years ago this August. Anyway, she was here visiting with her husband and asked if we wanted to get together. Naturally, I said yes. We met at the Mission Theater for drinks and then watched the newest episode of Portlandia, which the theater airs every Friday night. You may have seen this when I posted it on my Facebookpage, but here’s one of my favorite clips from the new season called, fart patio. Part of why I think it’s so funny, is because as a former vegetarian and vegan, I can totally relate! I’ve even eaten at the cafe they’re at in the clip, which has a lot of unique things on their menu — all vegan, mostly raw and nearly all gluten-free. I don’t really go there anymore, but if I do, I get a fresh green juice. They have some really tasty ones to choose from.

After watching Portlandia, we walked across the street and ate Thai food and drank hot Thai tea at Sweet Basil Thai. I ordered a gluten-free red curry with chicken, no rice. It was delicious. It felt so good to get out, see an old friend and laugh. I hadn’t laughed that hard in a while. My two glasses of wine didn’t sit super well with me, even though I chose something dry, but I still had a great time and didn’t let it hold me back. It was the first drink I’ve had since New Year’s eve. I’m not much of a drinker — usually just at holidays and when I go out with friends.

On Sunday, I worked in the morning, then went to a coffee shop afterward to pump out some more work. Then, I came home and got some 24-hour yogurt started, along with a batch of bone broth. I also made a tasty, creamy beverage that I’m hoping to post later this week, so stay tuned! Meanwhile, this week’s chaos has already begun. I worked out at Recreate this morning, came home, am off to school shortly and then after school, I head out to Clackamas Physical Conditioningwith my friend for our weekly appointment with Jason Seib. I get my advanced copy of Jason’s book today and am so excited to start digging in!

How was your weekend? Did you do anything fun or cook up anything delicious?

Happy Monday, everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was busy, but good busy. Saturday, I had an all day DVRT certification at my gym, which went from 9:30am – 6pm. We learned different assessments, progressions, techniques, cues and much more. It was a ton of information, and both mentally and physically fatiguing, but very valuable in more ways than one. Afterward, Jesse and I were really worn out, so decided to go out to eat. Then, we went home and relaxed for a bit before going to bed. I slept like a baby and it felt amazing to finally get a good night’s sleep. I hadn’t slept well in three nights because of my cold.

Sunday, I woke up refreshed and feeling better. My head felt less stuffy and heavy, and my cough was much better too. I drove to Recreate in the frozen fog (which made me a little disoriented) to help coach class, and then afterward, spent the rest of the day running errands, doing laundry (was way behind because our dryer broke, but our new dryer was delivered on Sunday), making 24-hour yogurt, making pork shoulder in the slow cooker (recipe to come!), getting all my ingredients in order for my treats at Cultured Caveman, and working on my taxes (what can I say, I got a head start).

Today, I have no school, in honor of MLK Day, but have enough to keep me busy. I’m replenishing my treats at the food cart bright and early this morning, meeting my friend, Laura, later in the morning for breakfast and conversation, doing homework, cleaning, cooking and either going to yoga in the evening or taking a rest day. That’s still to be determined.

In other, more exciting news, I have an awesome opportunity starting this week. On Friday, I took a leap and reached out to someone in the health/paleo/fitness world that I respect a lot about a potential mentor-ship opportunity. This person is Jason Seib, who owns Clackamas Physical Conditioning (about 25-30 minutes from me) and runs Everyday Paleo Lifestyle and Fitnesswith Sarah Fragoso. He also has a book coming out on March 5 called, The Paleo Coach, which I anticipate being fantastic. You may recall, that I attended one of his seminars this past September in Grants Pass, Oregon. I did a couple recap posts about it, which you can read here and here. I was also fortunate to interview Jason this past fall as an industry leader for one of my assignments in school.

Anyway, Jason surprisingly emailed me back within an hour of receiving my message, and asked if I could stop by his gym that very afternoon to chat about what he could offer me. Long story short, I’m going to be hanging out at his gym at least once a week to work with and learn from him! I get to join in on initial assessments, nutrition coaching, training, etc. This experience is going to be beyond valuable and I can’t wait to start soaking things up. To start, he is going to assess and train me (cool, right?). Additionally, we have a project in mind, but I need to hold off on talking about that for now. Oh, and I even got to meet the infamous, Deb while I was there. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, check out the following posts from Jason:

I’m so excited and proud of myself for reaching out to Jason. This is something I’ve been thinking about doing for a while now, but for some reason, was a little nervous about doing so and held back. I think part of it is because I respect him so much and feel slightly intimidated, but I knew that I couldn’t let a potential opportunity pass me by. Seriously, his gym is 25 minutes from me…how could I not take advantage of such proximity?

Do you create opportunities in your life? What is something that you’re excited about right now?

This past weekend, Jesse and I had the privilege of attending an Everyday Paleo workshop with Sarah Fragoso and Jason Seib in Grants Pass, Oregon at CrossFit GP. We signed up back in July and have been looking forward to it ever since. Anyway, Friday evening, we made the 4+ hour drive south to Grants Pass. This is the farthest south in Oregon I’ve ever been and the closest I’ve been to California as well. I was so tempted to stay longer and explore beautiful Grants Pass and the Rogue River Valley, and then maybe go into California. Jesse and I didn’t plan for that though and were trying to go the cheap route, plus we both had to teach in the morning. Another time, I suppose, but it really is beautiful down there.

We stayed at the Travelodge in Grants Pass, which provided a clean room and a bed, along with a continental breakfast. I figured the breakfast would be mostly bread and pastries and sugared cereals, and boy, was I spot on. We ate a couple fresh orange slices and walked out the door.

Bowl of sugar anyone?How about some “heart healthy whole grains”?

We walked right next door to the Black Bear Diner. I had a good laugh over this place and boy, did it remind me of Northern Michigan. It also reminded me a bit of Big Boy, a restaurant that’s all over Michigan. Jesse and I were both able to find things to eat. I ordered some hot tea, a 3-egg omelette with avocado, spinach, mushrooms and chicken, and a side of fresh fruit instead of potatoes and toast. I made sure they didn’t add milk to the omelette mixture and emphasized ‘no cheese’ on my omelette.

Black Bear Diner in Grants Pass, OR.Jesse walking up to the restaurant.The omelette I couldn’t eat. There was cheese inside and on top, underneath all the goods, and they forgot my spinach.

I was excited when my plate arrived and saw that everything looked great … or so I thought. As I was seasoning my omelette with a little salt and pepper, I noticed some white stringy stuff that blended in a bit with the omelette. After putting my fork into it and pulling it away to see a long white string attached, I knew it was cheese. I had to send it back and couldn’t even take one bite, but a short time later they returned with my new omelette and this time there was no cheese!

After breakfast, we drove over to CrossFit GP for the workshop, which started at 9 a.m. (and went until 3 p.m.). Walking up to the gym, I recognized Sarah’s husband sitting at a table checking people in. Jesse and I quickly grabbled some seats and were happy to see many other people in attendance. Sarah kicked off the workshop and from there, she and Jason took turns covering various topics. I was excited to find out that Jason lives right near Portland, in Clackamas, and owns a gym called Clackamas Physical Conditioning. Here, I thought he was from NorCal Strength and Conditioning as well (Robb Wolf’s gym, where Sarah also coaches), but come to find out, he’s our neighbor! During a private conversation with Jason and Sarah, Jesse and I spoke with them about collaborating in the near future and Jason offered for us to come check out his gym (take a class or sit in on the free nutrition class he offers, which is an abbreviated version of what he covered in the workshop). We chatted about some other things and it so was rad to have that one-on-one time with them. They’re such great people and an awesome team.

From left: Jesse, Sarah, me and Jason.

The workshop flew by pretty quickly, but covered a lot of topics and allowed for ample Q & A time. We covered Sarah’s story, paleo nutrition basics, getting started, paleo science basics, paleo survival guide, family matters, making it happen, and sleep, stress and how not to be a mess. There were many other subcategories within these topics including eating out, insulin resistance, athletes, autoimmune protocol, aesthetic goal conundrum, maybe foods, why feed your kids paleo, and so forth. At the beginning of the workshop, Sarah even threw a meal into the slow cooker that we got to eat at the end (slow chicken curry). It was delicious!

As I mentioned, Sarah and Jason are an awesome team. Jason has extensive knowledge and understanding in biochemistry and science and knows a lot of the nitty gritty stuff. Sarah has a lot to offer in terms of getting started, getting your family and kids on board, juggling kids, schedules, work and cooking, recipes, etc. Their knowledge and experience pair together really well.

Six hours later, after the workshop ended, Jesse and I sadly, had to head for home. Next time we drive all the way down there, we are going to stay at least one more day to explore. Needless to say, it was a great trip and workshop, and we left with more knowledge, insight and excitement. I love the life I lead and am so grateful for this lifestyle!

Hi, my name is Alisa! I am a health and wellness enthusiast living in Portland, Oregon with my husband, Jesse and our cats, Dutch and Frankie. I am passionate about living, moving and eating well, and love inspiring others to do so too. I currently work as a personal trainer in NW and NE Portland.

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